DETROIT (CN) – A major Pentagon contractor tortured an Iraqi taxi driver by, among other things, forcing him to drink large quantities of water while his penis was tied tightly with a cord, the man claims in Federal Court. A customer turned him over, the cabbie says, adding that he was “the victim of the American practice of paying money to Iraqis for ‘tips.’

The suit is against L-3 Services, formerly Titan Corporation. Plaintiff Mohammed Abdwihed Towfek Al-Taee, 39, says he “was badly tortured by L-3 employees and their co-conspirators.” He claims L-3 has heavily recruited for translators in the Detroit area, home of the U.S.’ largest population of Arab-Americans. He claims L-3, a publicly traded corporation, made millions of dollars by selling its translation services in Iraq, but fails to see that its translators do not torture innocent Iraqis. “During his detention at numerous sites, including Abu Ghraib, Mr. Al-Taee was horrifically abused by L-3 translators and their co-conspirators,” the complaint states. “Mr. Al-Taee was forced to consumer to much water that he began to vomit blood. After having vomited several times, Mr. Al-Taee fainted. After he resumed consciousness, the abuse continued. The translator and his co-conspirators tied a plastic line tight around Mr. Al-Taee’s penis and forced him to consume even more liquid. This forced consumption of liquids, combined with the forcible prevention of urination, almost killed Mr. Al-Taee.” Al-Taee says that after his arrest, on Aug. 21, 2003, he was also “struck and beaten with metal instruments,” “deprived of food,” “deprived of sleep for extended periods of tims,” “placed in painful stress positions for extended periods of time,” and “forced to engage in physical activity to the point of exhaustion.” “After being held for nine months in prison, Mr. Al-Taee was released on or about May 28, 2004 without being charged with any crime.” He claims that one of his torturers was an L-3 employee named Adel Nakhla. He claims L-3 and Nakhla “conspired with military personnel and corporate personnel from a company called CACI to torture prisoners.” He claims that “L-3 translators participated at every step along the way, translating threats and assisting with the physical torture of victims. …“L-3’s motivation was wholly financial – it made millions of dollars as a result of keeping quiet about and participating in the conspiracy to torture and mistreat Mr. Al-Taee and other prisoners. Other L-3 employees have admitted to participating in torturing and abusing prisoners.” He claims L-3 conspired to cover up the tortures by destroying documents and prevented the International Committee of the Red Cross from receiving reports of the tortures by, among other things, hiding him and other prisoners from the Red Cross. He demands damages for torture, war crimes, conspiracy to commit war crimes, and other charges. His lead attorney is Susan Burke with Burke O’Neil of Philadelphia.